Somewhere along the way, the Internet stopped being purely virtual and became deeply intertwined with reality. Thanks to the Internet, my approach to taking portraits shifted—not to going out into the city or reaching out to someone directly, but to searching the Internet.

On social networking sites, there were all kinds of girls showcasing their glamorous daily lives and surroundings through numerous photos. Each of them was captivating in their own way, and it seemed like only attractive girls existed there. However, if I simply collected girls I thought were cute, it would mean I was merely using their curated online personas to represent them. To avoid this, I used the number of followers and how frequently they tagged me as indicators for selecting models.

There is a distinct trend and a set of strategies for gaining followers on Instagram, and soon I noticed that the girls were implementing these strategies thoroughly. Similar hairstyles, similar makeup, similar expressions. Self-portraits taken from angles they knew would flatter them best. While they were objectively beautiful, their images were a reflection of their own socialized perspectives.

When I met the girls in person for the shoot, they left a very different impression compared to their Instagram profiles. The homogeneity I had noticed online disappeared entirely. Each and every one of them revealed a unique personality. Yet, when the camera was pointed at them, they all seemed to show a hidden individuality, as if playing themselves. They were thoughtful and sincere in their responses to my questions about how they wanted to be portrayed.

In these moments, the women transcended me, the person standing right in front of them. They existed beyond the lens and the camera, facing the society on the other side as if posing for a commemorative photograph. I confronted them, striving to capture them in their natural state. The expressions on these women’s faces were their thoughtful and sincere response to my request.